‘If you don’t give her antibiotics, she’ll go toxic and die.” Although my 96 year old aunt (pictured at left, between me and my cousin – her daughter) had no symptoms of a bladder infection, a urine test resulting from cloudy pee revealed she indeed had a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI. My aunt hadn’t complained about pain or discomfort, my cousin – her ‘power of attorney’ – authorized treatment with antibiotics. Many would agree. However, when I shared this with Dr. Jocelyn Charles, Chief of the Department of Family & Community. Medicine and Medical Director of the Veterans Centre at Sunnybrook Health Center, she shook her head. “Treating the test results and not the patient.” The (assuredly well-meaning) healthcare professional who made that pronouncement was talking about ‘sepsis’: when the bloodstream – and therefore the whole body – has become one big infection it becomes ‘toxic.’ In a younger person, antibiotics – standard protocol – would be a no-brainer. Rarely it seems, is taken into account the repercussions of ‘standard protocal’ in the elderly. Functionality and age should have an impact on treatment decisions From the blog, Geripal – devoted to optimal treatment of the elderly: Survival from severe sepsis: yes the infection is cured but not all is well – the point is made that, in the elderly – unlike those younger, whose bodies have more resources – treatment does not equal ‘back to how she was before’. Instead, treatment that sounds so necessary and logical can lead to increased confusion, worsening dementia, and a more vulnerable immune system. In my aunt’s case, several courses of antibiotics failed....